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Gentleman Jack

For years, Jack O’Connell has played rascals. And it’s never required a huge leap for him to get into character. " ’Jack the Lad’ was on my school report," the 24-year-old says in a rakish British accent. "It used to say that my Jack the Lad mentality was disruptive to meself and everyone else’s education." That he portrayed a similarly puckish kid on the teen drama Skins only cemented the reputation. But the work was good—and the accolades really started rolling in when he put that persona through a series of punishing roles. In visceral thrillers like Starred Up and ’71, O’Connell wasn’t just a charming teenager—he was a fully grown actor to be reckoned with.

That young-yet-battle-tested quality made him a perfect fit to play Louis Zamperini in Angelina Jolie’s adaptation of the very-very-best-seller Unbroken. Zamperini’s story is pure American epic: Olympic runner, Air Force enlistee, ocean-crash survivor, forty-seven-day castaway, and heavily tortured POW. Production was grueling: "There were times when I was so hungry that I was deluded," O’Connell recalls. But he emerged with another stirring physical performance—one signifying that O’Connell is in it for the long haul. Unbroken matured him, he says. "I’m not trying to have the most fun I’ve ever had ever, anymore, you know? That used to be the mentality every time I left the house," he says. "But things are going the way I want now. I’ve got my plants on my roof terrace, and I like watering them. I’m quite boring," he insists. Though on this day, his groggy speech suggests otherwise. So: Just watering the plants? "Well, I’m not going to pretend I had an early night last night, either!"